Sadly, even after so many years of the LORD showing Himself faithful and powerful to me here in the DRC—and in Jordan, Israel, Brazil, and in the USA—I still find myself lacking in faith of what the LORD can accomplish. Just like the disciples of Jesus freaking out in a boat during a storm (I did that too this past year), sometimes I get reprimanded with, “O ye of little faith.” I’d like to share one of my “O ye of little faith” situations.
Three years ago, two men from the USA sent me back to the DRC with two portable DVD players that had nine-inch screens, and they gave me various versions of the Jesus Film in the languages that were needed here. For six-months, I daily saw these DVD players sit unused in my closet as we were busy in Minembwe getting the house, the property, and many programs up and running. Then, the conflict roared to life in Minembwe and for two more years the DVD players continued to sit in my closet as we struggled alongside the local population to help the refugees, who were pouring into our area needing to be housed, fed, and clothed. “Two and a half years these DVD players have sat in my closet!” I kept complaining. “When are we going to use these, and when am I going to find someone local to partner with to minister spiritually to the people?”
Last February, a refugee named Aimable (Ah-ma-blay) knocked on our door; Aimable had just graduated from a Bible school in neighboring Rwanda. Aimable had wanted to return to his village just south of us, but his village had been overrun and burnt down by the rebels, so he moved from Rwanda directly to our village to be with his extended family who had fled here.
The Bible school Aimable attended in Rwanda was taught in English, so much to my surprise, standing at my front door was an English-speaking family man (33, wife and four kids) who was a mature believer, asking me if he could work with me to bring the Gospel and proper Biblical teaching to the local population. Michael… “O ye of little faith.”
We decided to get to know one another, and began to weekly study the Bible together. We started in James, and continued on, moving verse-by-verse, through the Peters, the Johns and Jude, and finished with Revelation. By the time we got to 1st Peter, I knew Aimable was a special man. I suggested that he begin to use the DVD players to share the Jesus Film with the local families in their homes; Aimable quickly adapted to using the video as a point of evangelism and teaching.
I’m blessed to work with Aimable as he is a strong and confident teacher. At the university, we recently showed the hour-long edited version of the Jesus Film called “The Story of Jesus for Children” to 300 primary school students. We paused frequently for explanation, with Aimable asking and taking questions. We broke the presentation up into two hour-long sessions spaced a week apart. We have since begun to take this presentation to all of the other surrounding schools and churches.
Somehow!
Michael
